A New Pride
by cogsiethetickedoffclock
Summary: Kiara and Kovu have become the proud parents of two beautiful cubs, Zara and Razi. But what happens when man invades the Pridelands and threatens their new family, as well as their entire pride? Will they be able to do what it takes to save everybody they
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-Danger in the Pridelands

Kovu growled, crouching deep in the grass of the African savannah. The dried brown grass of summer did not do much to help hide his dark coat of fur and black mane. His claws came out and he gently scratched at the patch of dirt that was before him, not a sound emitting from the motion. A young cub looked on in interest, her head cocked to the side. Something in the distance cracked, and she immediately turned her head to where she had heard the crack, listening intently. Kovu did the same, and as another crack sounded from the position, he realized what that was. Birds flew in a scattered order in every different direction, and this only confirmed his suspicions. Without bothering to explain to the young cub, he grabbed her around the middle in between his teeth, and she grunted. Kovu ran from the hunting grounds in the direction of Pride Rock, the one place he knew his daughter would be safe.

"Kovu, what's wrong?" one of the lionesses asked as he loped, panting, into the cave behind the rock where his pride was lounging to stay out of the heat. The lioness was exceptionally pretty, with bright blue eyes that shone in concern for Kovu's sanity, as he could not find the words to tell her what he had heard. He dropped his daughter from his mouth and slumped to the floor in exhaustion.

"Mother, what happened?" the princess of Pride Rock, and, coincidently, Kovu's beautiful mate Kiara, questioned as she walked into the cave, a small cub following in her wake. Frustrated by the way the cub refused to leave her side and kept tripping her as he ran around her legs, she nudged him a little harder than necessary, causing him to stumble and fall.

"I don't know, Kiara. Where is your father?" Nala asked. She had thought that Simba, the king of Pride Rock, was with her daughter and grandson, but obviously that was not the case.

"He went to chase off the hyenas." Unfortunately for those living in the pridelands, the hyenas had returned, much to the dismay of Simba, who really didn't want to keep attacking them every few minutes. Nala shook her beautiful head and went to lie down on the cool ground, hoping it would be a relief from the heat that had seemed to follow them there. The rest of the pride was asleep from the looks of it, or just resting.

"Kovu, are you okay?" Kiara asked her mate lovingly, nudging him gently.

"No. Kiara, I need to speak with you. Privately," he added, with a glance at the two cubs, who were staring up at him with interest burning in their gazes.

"Very well. You two stay here. Do you understand me? Jahzara, if I see you anywhere near the entrance of the cave, you will be punished," Kiara made sure to tell her daughter. Jahzara, or Zara for short, had a nasty habit of being where she shouldn't and not listening to her parents. Razi, on the other hand, was the mellower of the twins and Kiara knew that she only had to warn him once.

"Yes, Mummy," Zara responded, hanging her head in submission. Kiara eyed her suspiciously for a moment, but then turned and followed the still exhausted Kovu out of the cave.

"Now, Kovu, what's happened? I haven't seen you so worked up since you said the hyenas had returned," Kiara said, worry evident in her voice. She sat down on her haunches comfortably and waited for Kovu to explain.

"Man is in the Pridelands." At Kovu's words, his mate's eyes went wide with fright. Man had been in the Pridelands only once before in their lifetimes, but it was enough to remember. They had lost several of their pride that day, and hoped that it would never happen again. Their children would not understand the danger, as it had been before they were born.

"Man?" Kiara barely whispered. Like Kovu, she remembered only too vividly what the hunters had done to the lionesses that they had captured. The horrors now for the rest of the pride were too great to imagine. "Father!" Kiara gasped, and sprung away from Kovu, bounding as speedily as she could down Pride Rock, determined to find her father, the aging king.

"Kiara!" The lioness ignored her mate's shout and ran still faster. She had to inform her father about the hunters before he himself was captured by them, though she doubted very much so that the fierce lion would let himself be taken without a fight.

Another crack echoed through the land, and Kovu swallowed hard, fear for his mate and her father nearly overwhelming him. But he knew that he could not go after Kiara; he should not. She was independent, and would not appreciate him going to "rescue" her when she didn't need rescuing. The best thing to do would be to wait in the cave with his children and the rest of the pride until Kiara and Simba had returned.

Nala, who had heard Kovu's panicked shout, exited from the cave's mouth and walked slowly and gracefully up to him, her tail twitching slightly. "What was that about, Kovu? Where is Kiara?"

"Man," Kovu responded hoarsely, still stunned about Kiara's decision to put herself in danger in order to keep her father out of danger. "And Ki has gone. She went to warn Simba, Nala."

"Why didn't you stop her?" Nala raised her voice in anger at her daughter's mate, though she knew why.

"She wouldn't have listened in any case. You know that."

"Yes, I do. There is nothing we can do right now. Come inside, Kovu. Zara and Razi are waiting to play with you. Zara is a bit upset that her hunting lesson got interrupted."

"I suppose I'll have to make that up to her soon. But it won't be until the hunters are gone. I won't put my daughter at risk. I refuse." Kovu's tone was adamant, and Nala nodded her approval as the dark lion headed back into the cave.

"Oh, my darling, what have you done?" Nala said to herself as she looked out over the Pridelands, her heart sinking as she heard for the first time a crack that could only come from those weapons that man was always using to kill. She followed Kovu back into the cave and lay down again, letting the coolness of the stone ground to sink beneath her fur.

Kiara loped as fast as her legs would carry her across the Pridelands to the elephant graveyard in the Outlands where she knew she would find Simba herding the hyenas. She entered the dark shadowed land of the hyenas' home cautiously, making no noise as she stepped carefully over the scattered bones of different savannah animals. Ears pricked for any sudden sound and eyes watching out for any sudden movements, she almost didn't see something lying spread-eagled in her path. Just before she stepped on it, it growled softly and she moved back in surprise before walking toward it again. It was the body of her father.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed, her voice as low as she could make it. "Oh, Daddy, we have to get you out of here. What happened to the hyenas?"

Before Simba could answer her in his weak state, an evil laugh echoed throughout the graveyard and she snarled fiercely, warning the predators near her to stay away. Of course, hyenas could be very stupid sometimes, and they dared to approach her, still laughing. "Get away from me," she ground out, crouching low, determined to protect herself and Simba.

The hyena in the lead merely cackled even more loudly than before, and the others behind him followed suit. The leader spoke in a growl that might have had Kiara cowering in fear had she not been so furious at the nerve of these beasts. "What have we here, boys?" Judging by the voice, the leader was undoubtedly female, and Kiara knew immediately that this much be Hija, Shenzi's sister, whom Simba had told her about already. She hadn't thought that Hija would be the leader, only the leader's mate. It was obvious that she had assumed wrongly.

"Trespassers," replied one of the hyenas behind Shenzi's sister.

"Yes, I know that, Banzai! It was a rhetorical question, you idiot." The hyena who had spoken was obviously one of the originals who had almost eaten Simba when he was a cub. Kiara wondered why Banzai was there and what had happened to Shenzi, though at the moment, she wasn't that anxious to find out.

"Well, I'm _sorry_, Hija," Banzai snapped, not sounding sorry at all. It was clear that he disliked the new female leader with a passion; quite possibly because she had taken the position away from him when they'd returned to the Outlands.

"Yeah, sorry. Sure. I'll give you something to be sorry about!" Hija snarled, lunging at Banzai, her attention on Kiara waning for a bit. Kiara stood protectively at her father's side, trying to get him on his feet. She finally succeeded, and got him draped across her back so that she could begin to creep away while the hyenas were arguing.

Kiara was able to breathe easier when they were met with bright sunlight spreading across the dry African savannah. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath and to survey her home with loving eyes that swept over every inch of the pridelands where she had grown up. She wasn't able to stand still for long; the hyenas had followed her out once they had settled their little dispute, and were now blocking her path towards Pride Rock. She shook Simba off her back and he fell into the grass with a small thud and a groan of agony.

"What did you do to him, you monster?" Kiara screamed at Hija, attacking the female with every ounce of cold fury that had sunk beneath her fur. Hija barely had time to defend herself as Kiara leapt at her, but the odds were definitely in the female's favor. As the princess scored Hija's back with her razor sharp claws, the hyena Banzai leapt on her, rolling her away from the female leader and standing over her triumphantly. But he had not counted on Kiara's strength, and she was able to push him off of her, letting loose a ferocious roar that had all the hyenas but Banzai and Hija running for cover.

Hija clucked her tongue, shaking her head. "My, my, you _do_ have a temper, don't you, Princess," she drawled. It wasn't a question as far as Kiara could tell, as her temper was common knowledge.

"Get out of my lands," Kiara snapped, advancing on the two remaining hyenas, who obviously decided it was in their best interests to leave her alone for now, as they both slunk away. As soon as they were gone, Kiara turned to her father again, and gave him a hard nudge with her nose. "Daddy, are you okay? What did they do to you?"

"Ambush," Simba groaned, reminding his daughter of a time he had said the same thing about Kovu.

"Well, let's get you home. It's no longer safe in the Pridelands," Kiara explained, helping Simba to his feet. "Man has arrived…again. Kovu heard them when he was teaching Zara how to hunt. I came to find you."

"You shouldn't be here yourself, Kiara. You know better," Simba said, still managing to sound like an overprotective father in his weakened state, even though his daughter had cubs of her own and she definitely no longer needed protection from him. Kiara simply rolled her eyes and set the pace at a slow speed so that the weaker lion could keep up easily.

"Well, if I didn't come, who would? Kovu wouldn't be able to, because Zara would have followed him regardless of if I ordered her not to. You know she's such a daddy's girl. And Razi might have followed her. So naturally, I was the best choice. Besides, if you died, I'd have to be queen. Not exactly on my list of priorities."

Simba smiled slightly at his daughter's small joke and licked her cheek affectionately and in gratitude. "I know I can always count on you, Ki."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-Bedtime Story

Jahzara paced anxiously around the cave, waiting for her mother to arrive with her grandfather, wondering what on earth was taking them so long. They should have been back hours ago. The light was already beginning to fade from the bright African sun, which was beginning to sink behind the mountains way off in the distance. Her twin brother Razi sat on his haunches, waiting patiently for their mother's return. She was so annoyed with how calm he acted when their own family members could be in danger somewhere!

"Zara, relax," Kovu said, catching his daughter with a large paw as she tried lunging out the cave door. She immediately went limp across his paw and he chuckled as he dropped her onto her stomach. "Your mother will be back soon, stop worrying."

Although Kovu put on a brave front around his children, he was as worried as Zara that Kiara wasn't back yet, if not more, for he knew the real danger in the Pridelands that day. He knew that if she had a run-in with the hyenas, she would be able to handle herself, but against man, she stood no chance. Suddenly, Kovu had an idea of how to distract both himself and his children; both of them, as he knew Razi was concerned as well, though he did not show it like his sister did.

"Jahzara, would you like to hear the story of how your mother and I met?" Kovu asked, lying down on the floor and tapping his tail against the ground.

"Okay," Zara sighed, not really in the mood for a story. But she went to curl up next to her father just to humor him. "C'mon, Razi."

Razi came over from where he sat patiently and copied his sister, curling up at Kovu's side, waiting for the story to begin. They had never really heard Kovu and Kiara's story, and Kovu decided that there would be no better time for them to listen. It would at least give them something to do until Kiara returned with Simba.

"Scar chose me to follow in his footsteps and to become King of the Pridelands when he was gone-"

"Who's Scar?" Zara interrupted, perking her ears in interest. Kovu chuckled and bopped her head gently.

"Scar was your grandfather's uncle-"

"Where is he?" Zara asked, now very intrigued with the story. She had never heard of this Scar, which was surprising because he was Simba's uncle.

"He…died-"

"Who died?" a new voice entered the conversation, causing all three of those lying down to hop to their feet in relief, including Razi. He immediately ran to Kiara and nuzzled her leg, running around her and underneath her as she continued to walk toward Zara and Kovu.

"Mummy!" Zara cried, overjoyed.

"Hello, darlings," Kiara greeted. "Who died, Kovu?"

"I was telling them about how we met-"

"Were you talking about Zira?"

"No. I hadn't gotten that far. I was talking about Scar."

"I see." Kiara turned toward the cave entrance to make sure Simba, who had followed her more slowly into their home, had gotten inside safely. There was no longer any Sarabi to make sure her son was okay, as she had died a few years before Kiara's birth. Nala hurried to her mate, and Kiara turned back to her own mate, who licked her cheek lovingly. "Kids, it's time for bed."

"Aw, but Mummy-" Zara instantly began complaining, but Kiara cut her off with a shake of her head.

"No buts, Z. If you go lie down right now, I'll let Daddy tell you some of the story," Kiara said, motioning with her head for the cubs to curl up with the rest of the pride, something Zara absolutely detested. She didn't like sleeping with the lionesses or the other cubs, as the cubs would always be talking late into the night, long after the adults had drifted off. It always kept Zara up, and then she was usually cranky in the morning.

"Fine, Mummy," Zara pouted, but she did as her mother told her to, Razi trailing along behind her like always. Kovu and Kiara walked after them and made sure that the cubs were comfortable before lying down themselves.

"Daddy, are you going to tell us the story now?" Razi asked, and his sister looked over at him in shock. He didn't usually ask their parents for anything, preferring to let Zara handle it. Kovu smiled at his son and nodded his head.

"As long as you promise to go to sleep right after," Kiara said sternly, staring straight at Zara. She was the one who had trouble sleeping at night, though Kiara did not know why.

Some of the other cubs who were also ordered by their mothers to go to sleep hurried over to where the small family was so that they could listen as well. Zara resisted the urge to growl, wanting them to go away and leave them alone; they weren't part of the family, and they didn't deserve to hear the story. But she kept her mouth shut for once, and rested her head on her paws as Kovu started the story, seemingly unaware of his growing audience.

"I was chosen, as a young cub, to follow in Scar's footsteps and to become King of Pride Rock. My mother was Zira, and she trained me to seek vengeance on Simba because according to her, he was the reason Scar died."

"Kovu," Kiara warned, glaring at him. She didn't want the cubs to know too much about what had happened with Zira, or why Kovu had come into Simba's pride in the first place. The story was coming dangerously close to that point, and Kiara would do anything to keep that from happening.

"Sorry, Ki. Now where was I? Oh yeah…well one day I decided to sneak away from where I lived with my mother and her pride. Nuka, my brother, was supposed to be watching after me while Zira went hunting, but he resented all the attention everyone gave me, so he didn't really care what happened to me. We lived in the Outlands and were banished from the Pridelands, but that's where I ended up. I was only there for a little bit before your mother Kiara rolled off a fallen tree branch and crashed into me. She had stolen away from Timon and Pumbaa, who Simba had left in charge of her.

"We ended up having to outwit several alligators hiding in the swamp we fell into-long story, we'll save that for another time-and when we were back on solid ground, we introduced ourselves. Little did we know, however, that we were being watched by none other than Zira, who was crouching low in the grass so as not to be seen. She heard Kiara tell me her name, and instantly knew that she was the princess and the daughter of Simba, my greatest enemy. I, of course, didn't know, and Kiara tried to engage me in a game of tag. I had never played it before, and she soon realized it, so she hunkered down and began to growl playfully.

"As soon as I growled back, Simba jumped in front of her, letting loose a mighty roar, and Zira leaped out of her hiding place to mimic Simba's action in front of me. As Zira and Simba began arguing, I stood trembling behind my mother's front legs, staring straight at the King and the lioness, Nala, who had joined him. The only ones I was not afraid of were Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and a pig, neither of which were very intimidating."

"Hey!" Timon interrupted, scurrying over to sit in between Kovu's ears.

"You weren't. You called me a fuzzy maraca. That's not scary, that's pathetic," Kovu replied, grinning. "Besides, I'm telling a story here. Now, if you don't mind…

"Simba ordered Zira to get out of the Pridelands, and she did, with the last words: 'This has barely begun.' Zira took me back to the Outlands, while Simba brought Kiara to Pride Rock. From that moment on, the minute we returned to the Outlands, Zira trained me to be Simba's enemy. But this was her plan: that, in a disaster Nuka and my sister Vitani caused, I would win my way into the lives of Kiara and, eventually, Simba.

"The plan was set. I grew up hating all the Pridelanders, especially the King of Pride Rock. When Kiara was finally going on the hunt all lionesses and lions go through before coming of age, Nuka and Vitani, who had been spying on her, set fire to the land. I was to rescue Kiara from the raging fire; my job was made a whole lot easier by the fact that she had run away to hunt in the Outlands after she had caught Timon and Pumbaa spying on her on Simba's orders. He didn't trust her to remain safe by herself.

"I worked my way into Kiara's heart after she realized that it was me, but Simba was a bit more difficult. He didn't trust me automatically, like Kiara did, and even Nala seemed to. Neither did Zazu. The plan was still in motion, but I wanted Simba to trust me before I took him out." Kovu paused here, and drew a paw across his throat, making a slicing noise as he did so.

"Kovu…" Kiara said, once more a warning. He glanced at her and smirked mischievously at her as she glared. "Okay, kids, time for bed," the princess ordered calmly without making it sound like a command. The other cubs immediately stood and headed to their mothers, while Jahzara and Razi remained curled into Kovu's side.

"Mummy, aren't you going to bed?" Zara asked as Kiara stepped silently around the sleeping pride. She was trying to catch her mother in doing something wrong, like staying up while the cubs had to sleep.

"I'll be there in a bit, Z. I'm just going to check on Grandpa. Now go to sleep, sweetheart," Kiara said soothingly, and Zara nodded wearily, finally allowing herself to give into the exhaustion of the day. Her eyes began to close and her breathing eased as she fell into the black oblivion of restful sleep.

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Razi awoke the next morning surprisingly early; he found himself up before his sister Zara had even stirred, something he had thought was impossible. Zara was always awake and already playing tag with their father, who also was an early riser, by the time Kiara roused her son. He guesstimated that it was barely time to start the day by the fact that no sun shone inside the cave yet, and it was always bright by the time he woke up.

He stretched and yawned widely, wishing he had that pleasant roar his father and grandfather had when they yawned, but he wasn't old enough yet. Kovu was always telling him to work on his roar, but he was too shy to do it when he was with someone, which was all the time. He refused to go anywhere without being accompanied by Kiara or Nala, at the very least.

Razi tiptoed across the cave on silent paws and made it to the mouth without waking anyone else, which was again surprising. It was Zara who was the best at everything, especially at being quiet; Razi managed to always make loud noises and get the both of them caught. He didn't much like sneaking out of the cave, but on a few occasions Zara had convinced him to with her, and every time they were caught because of the noise he tended to make. Today, however, he felt as if he wanted to take a risk by wandering away from Pride Rock by himself instead of with his mother or grandmother.

He raced down the rock formation until he found himself on solid ground. Dust stirred up under his paws as he ran along the dirt path, determined to overcome his fear of being alone in the wilderness without someone to accompany him. He decided that if he was going to become King of Pride Rock some day, he couldn't be fearful of everything that came his way.

It was still dark, and Razi found himself jumping at every little noise he heard coming from each direction. He crouched down and continued walking that way, his tiny claws out and his teeth bared as menacingly as he could make it seem. His eyes, mirror images of Kovu's, flickered every which way and grew wider with every unidentified noise he heard. "I wish the sun would come up soon," he said to himself, about to turn back toward Pride Rock. But he couldn't tell where he was, or even if he was on the right path, the one he traveled on with Kiara.

"Mama?" he asked pitifully into the darkness, finally settling down onto his haunches and crouching down over his front paws, trembling. He closed his eyes so that he would not see what was going on around him.

The next sound he heard was the crunch of someone or something stomping through the dried grass of the African savannah. "Que faites-vous ici de vous-même, le petit gars? Où votre mère est?" a voice asked in a language Razi couldn't identify. He looked up from the ground, still shaking in terror, only to be faced with the greatest threat ever to come across the Pridelands: man.

Que faites-vous ici de vous-même, le petit gars? Où votre mère est? What are you doing here by yourself, little guy? Where is your mother?

**A/N: I tend to use different languages when I write certain things, and since this story obviously takes place in Africa, I'm using French because over twenty countries in Africa speak French. Plus, I don't have a translator for Swahili at the moment; so if any of you reading do have a Swahili dictionary translator, please let me know because that would be greatly appreciated.**

**Oh, by the way, I didn't put a disclaimer on the first chapter: I own nothing but the characters I created with my own mind; which only consists of Razi and Jahzara at the moment. Oh, and the humans. But everything else belongs to the creators of "The Lion King". Thank you, and please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-Missing

Kiara yawned widely, much like her son had only a few hours ago. She opened her eyes blearily, looking around her, as was her morning custom, first at Razi, then Jahzara, mostly to make sure they hadn't snuck out again. _Wait a minute_, she thought to herself, and glanced back at where Razi had been the night before, curled up against his father. It seemed strange, but she didn't see her precious son where he was supposed to be, and she decided that she must be dreaming. Zara was still there, so Razi must be around the cave somewhere. He wouldn't wander off alone; he was much too frightened of the world outside of Pride Rock. She closed her eyes again before her mind had time to register that Razi truly was missing. A second later, her eyes popped open and she started searching for her missing cub.

"Razi! Razi, where are you?" she called frantically, waking up everyone in the cave who was still asleep…which meant every lion in the pride. And the King's advisor, in the form of a bird. And the meerkat. And the warthog. None of whom were very happy with the worried princess.

"Kiara, what's the rush?" Timon asked sleepily, rubbing his rather big eyes. He had fallen asleep on Pumbaa's back and slipped off as the warthog got to his feet, landing hard on his backside. "Geez, Pumbaa, do you mind?"

"Oh," Pumbaa muttered apologetically. "Sorry."

"Hey, Kiara," Timon called to the frantic mother, who was still searching everywhere she could think of in the cave, unaware that she had woken up everyone in the pride. "What gives?"

"Kovu, Razi is missing," Kiara said to her mate, whose eyes widened in surprise at the news. She still seemed unaware that she had her entire pride staring at her like she had gone mental; every lioness present knew that Razi wouldn't wander off unless persuaded by his sister. And Zara would have gone with him. She was still there, sitting at Kovu's side, tapping her tail against the floor impatiently.

"That's impossible. Zara, did you tell Razi to leave?" Kovu asked his daughter, turning on her in an instant.

"Daddy." She spoke as if she were addressing a small cub, younger than even herself. "I wouldn't be here if I had. I don't trust him to go off by himself, just because he never has before."

"Assemble a search party," Kovu said, his deep voice rumbling throughout the cave, and the King's advisor, Zazu, swooped down from where he had been hovering in the air, making a deep bow. Simba was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Nala.

"With all due respect, sire," Zazu addressed Kovu, even though he was not yet King of the Pridelands, "Simba and Nala have already left. They gave me instructions on whom they wanted in each group."

"Very well, then, Zazu. Hurry up," Kovu ordered the bird.

"Confiance," Zazu called, and one of the lionesses stepped forward, blinking big beautiful amber eyes. Zazu said another name and repeated this until four lionesses were lined up in front of him. He addressed the first one he called, Confiance, telling her to search the area around Pride Rock with her group.

"Of course," she replied, and after a minute, she had her group organized and had led them out of the cave.

"Soleil, you'll be taking Pluie, Lune, and Ciel. Simba wants you to look in the fields were the antelope graze. Moyo," Zazu instructed next as a younger looking female stopped in front of him. "Mvua, Mwenzi, and Jua will go with you to look in the Outlands." The two separate groups left to search in their designated areas as the bird faced Kiara and Kovu. "The King wishes you to stay here, princess."

"What?" Kiara gasped in shock. "Why? Razi is my _son_!"

"And the King says that since every other lioness in the pride is out looking for Razi, there is no one to watch the other cubs," Zazu explained, and Kiara sighed in exasperation. Kovu nuzzled her comfortingly, but she moved away, resisting the urge to snarl in his direction. She was beside herself with worry, and her father expected her just to stay and baby-sit while her own baby was out there, lost and alone? She absolutely did _not_ want to be touched in any way right now.

"Fine," Kiara grumbled, laying her ears against her head to let the bird and her mate know she was displeased.

"Timon, Pumbaa, and Kovu, you're to come with me," Zazu instructed, and they wasted no time in hurrying out of the cave.

Kiara sighed and flopped onto her belly, watching the cubs as they rough-housed with each other. Only one stood still, observing her playmates, annoyance showing in each flick of her tail. "Zara, come here, sweetheart," Kiara called gently, and Zara jumped. She hadn't expected her mother to speak to her, believing her to be in a state of shock. Zara snuggled up by her mother and closed her eyes, pretending that all this, her brother's disappearance and the indifference of the other cubs, was a dream.

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The human who had spoken lifted the shaking cub from the ground and gently, cautiously, examined him. He was too terrified to look away, and he saw that the sun had risen while he had had his eyes closed, before the human had spoken. "Vous devez avoir faim. Je prendrai vous soutient pour camper, et alors nous trouverons votre momie," the human said in that strange language so unfamiliar to the frightened cub. The human, Razi noticed, handled him as gently as his mother did when she knew he was scared; maybe he had no need to fear man, after all.

Razi allowed a small pathetic mew to come out of his mouth as the human carried him away. "Je m'appelle Ariane. Je vous appellerai Jaune," the human said in that odd language. He wished that the person would speak in a language he understood, but then he remembered that humans spoke a different tongue than lions.

They reached a small erected tent that stood in the center of a rather large camp area, where many other humans bustled about, speaking in their strange language. He did not recognize the area where he was, and almost instantly, his heart began beating faster in fright. He buried his face into the human's chest, and found that it was comforting, just like his mother was. Instinctively he knew that this human was female and that she would protect him exactly like Kiara would.

"Ariane!" Someone called, and Razi shrank back against the female human's chest once more, craving her protection. She cradled him in her arms, making soothing noises as she headed toward the one who had spoken. "What have you brought here, Ariane? You have brought death upon us!"

The dark-skinned human was male by the deep rumble of his voice, and he spoke in a tongue that was still unfamiliar to Razi, yet was different that the one the female he called Ariane had been speaking. "Oh, calm down," Ariane snapped, rolling her eyes. "The cub was lost, it was obvious. I doubt the mother will find it."

"Ariane, you must be daft!" the man replied, shaking his fist at her. Razi suppressed a small growl at this action, though he didn't know why. It went unheard by the male, but Ariane definitely noticed, and she smiled. But then her smile turned into a frown, and she lightly tapped the man's shoulder in reprimand, much like, Razi noted, how Kiara would nip at his sister's shoulder whenever she got into trouble.

"Don't you call me daft, Mr. Singh! I am not in the slightest, thank you very much. I know what I am doing; I am, after all, the lion expert you hired on this trip. Which, by the way-"

"I know, I know, Ariane. Which you totally, completely, and absolutely disagree with. We're here to _study_ the animals, girl, not to eat them for dinner."

"Right." Without another word, Ariane whirled on her heel and marched into the tent in the center of camp. Inside, Razi saw, were piles of blankets and human items strewn all of the place, though he could not fathom what they might be needed for. "Don't worry, little one," the woman said softly in Razi's ear. "I'll keep you safe from the likes of _him_."

Razi had no idea what she was saying, but he recognized the tone of voice she used; it was soothing, comforting, when he was miles away from home, from all things dear and familiar. He wished he hadn't snuck out while everyone else was still asleep. He may not have gotten caught by his parents, but this situation was infinitely worse.

"You know," Ariane said to Razi, who looked up at her in interest as she pulled sheets around him to keep him warm. She seemed to ordain his shivers to be from the rather chilly wind outside, and not from fear. "Jaune means yellow in French. It's a nice name for a lion. I mean, you're almost yellow. Hmm…I wonder if you can understand me," she mused thoughtfully. She shrugged after pondering the question and not coming up with any solution, and snuggled up next to the lion cub in her care. She knew it was foolhardy to do something like that, but somehow she knew that the little lion's mother would not find her and rip her to shreds for touching her baby. Little did Ariane know, however, was that at that exact moment, the lioness mother was pacing furiously in her den, waiting anxiously for the return of her son.

**A/N: Confiance, Soleil, Pluie, Lune, and Ciel are all French words; confiance means "trust", soleil is "sun", pluie is "rain", lune means "moon", and ciel is French for "sky". There are three other lionesses that have been given French names that I haven't actually addressed by name, and they'll probably appear in a later chapter. Moyo, Mvua, Mwenzi, and Jua are Swahili for "heart" (moyo), "rain" (mvua), "moon" (mwenzi), and "sun" (jua).**

**Translations:**

**Vous devez avoir faim. Je prendrai vous soutient pour camper, et alors nous trouverons votre momie. -** **You must be hungry. I'll take you back to camp, and then we'll find your mummy.**

**Je m'appelle Ariane. Je vous appellerai- My name is Ariane. I will call you Jaune**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4-

"Jaune!" a woman called across the African savannah. When no one answered to her call, she let out a shrill whistle and gave a loud "Ooph!" as she was knocked over by a rambunctious adolescent lion who came running up from behind her. She laughed as the lion rolled her onto her back and began licking her face affectionately, especially her nose. Finally she had enough and struggled to throw the heavy creature off of her, which was proving to be impossible.

"Jaune, get off," she said. When Jaune did not respond to her request, even though he knew what she was saying, the young woman glared at him and snapped, "Jaune, down."

Properly ashamed of himself that he didn't listen the first time, Jaune shook out his small mane and ducked his head, backing away slowly and curling up on the ground. "That's what I thought," the lion expert told him, getting to her feet and placing her hands on her hips. Only a few years had passed since a little lion cub had been found alone on the savannah, but Ariane Bastille was already showing signs of age.

Four years ago, Ariane had been a woman of twenty-five, young for a job as a lion expert on the African savannah, eager for an adventure. Now, just barely twenty-nine, the stress of her job was taking its toll on her, and she could no longer wrestle and play with Jaune the way she used to be able to. And, as much as it killed her to think of it, she knew it was almost time for her to release her beautiful lion back into the wild where he belonged. Mr. Singh was to blame for most of the pressure put on her to let Jaune go, for he had never gotten used to the idea of a lost lion in his camp.

Ariane knew her heart would break once it was time to say good-bye to her lion, though she was surprised that that day hadn't come yet. And that was why her once beautiful shiny red hair had faded away to a dull auburn brown and the circles under her eyes had grown darker as each year passed. Her eyes, once vibrant amber, never sparkled as they used to and were now an ugly shade of brown.

"Okay, baby, come on," Ariane said, smiling at Jaune. She was so proud of how he had grown since she had picked him up out of the tall dry grass so many years before. He was her baby, the only child she would ever need, or ever want.

"Miss Bastille," Mr. Singh called, coming up to her, wary of the lion at her side. Ariane stared him down with a raised eyebrow as if daring to say something about Jaune like he usually did.

"What is it, Mr. Singh?"

"Have you thought anymore of releasing your…Jaune…into the wild?" Ariane stifled a snicker at Mr. Singh's hesitation to say the word lion.

"No, I haven't, Mr. Singh. Now would you kindly stop asking me this? I will release him when I feel ready," Ariane told the Punjabi man coldly. She was incredibly annoyed by him always questioning her on the subject when the matter did not even concern him.

"The only reason I was wondering, Miss Bastille, is because of a new expert we have coming on this expedition. He'll be arriving here later today, and I expect you to get rid of the…Jaune…before he gets here."

"I refuse, Mr. Singh. And why have you hired another without my consent or permission?"

"I was putting off telling you this, Miss Bastille…Ariane…but…you're being let go," Mr. Singh told Ariane, who stared at him with wide eyes, clearing disbelieving. She refused to believe a word that was coming out of the Indian man's mouth, but as he repeated it, she could not ignore his words a moment longer.

"W-what? You're lying!" she shouted in his face, her trembling hand reaching for something to steady her. She found her lion and clutched his mane as if her very life depended on it. "I don't believe what you are saying. I've been on this expedition for four years, you can't just replace me!"

"Well, if you hadn't brought a lion back to camp four years ago, things might have turned out different!"

Feeling threatened by the raised voices, Jaune glanced at Ariane and turned to snarl viciously in Mr. Singh's direction. He saw how upset the woman who raised him had become, and he could only conclude that it was the dark-skinned man if front of them that had caused something wet run down her cheeks. Mr. Singh stood stock-still, not willing to have his throat ripped out by the growling lion, and did not stop Ariane as she said, "C'mon, Jaune!" and darted away around the tents, Jaune following at her heels.

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Nothing had been the same since Razi disappeared from their lives. Jahzara, the rambunctious daughter of Kovu and Kiara, did not go off alone anymore; in fact, she hardly ever ventured off of Pride Rock, preferring to stay with her parents and the rest of the pride. Kiara had no spirit left to her anymore, especially not to be Queen. Simba and Nala, Kiara's beloved parents, had left the pride together, leaving Kiara to be the leader of the many lionesses, most of them the ones she had known as cubs. The others had all died or vanished mysteriously, though it wasn't too surprising with the humans still in the Pridelands. Kovu had taken over the ruling of the pride even though he was not King by birth.

"Father, I don't want to! Please, don't make me!" Jahzara, who didn't even go by "Zara" anymore, begged, lowering herself to her belly by way of submission.

"Jahzara, you are going on your hunt. All lionesses do at your age; it's your initiation as an adult into the pride!" Kovu roared at his daughter, his dark brown eyes, usually so kind and loving, now filled with suffering.

"But I _can't_, Father, I_ can't_!" Jahzara cried, and Kovu looked at her in astonishment. Before Razi's disappearance, all she had ever wanted was to go on her first hunt without anyone to help her bring down her prey.

"You must, Jahzara. You must get over this fear of yours," Kiara spoke from the shadows of the cave on Pride Rock, her voice void of any emotion.

"And what of you, Mother?" Jahzara screamed, her eyes blazing with fury. She stood up and whirled around to face Kiara, her claws out and teeth bared in anger. Kiara growled slightly, responding to her daughter's position, taking it as a challenge even though it wasn't. "You act like you don't care about anything anymore, not since Razi left!"

"Do not talk to your mother that way," Kovu ground out angrily, and Jahzara stared at him as if daring to nip at her the way he used to when she misbehaved or talked back to him or Kiara.

"I'll talk to her any way I please. You know what I say is true," Jahzara snapped at her father before running out of the cave and up Pride Rock to overlook the view of the savannah below. As she gazed out across her beautiful homeland, she noticed something rather odd. A nearly grown lion was loping through the tall, now lush, grass, followed by a human who did not seem to be hunting him at all. The young princess had never seen a human before, but what other creature ran on two legs?

Jahzara's sensitive hearing picked up strange words that were flowing from the human's mouth, and she wondered what meaning they had. As she watched, the odd pair finally stopped running and the lion turned his head to wait for the human to catch up before he started taking long strides in the direction of Pride Rock.

"Father!" Jahzara cried in horror, racing back down the rock into the den where her parents still were. She arrived panting and trembling from the sight she had seen of the human and the adolescent lion. Kovu considered her carefully as she struggled to explain that a young lion, not much older than herself from the look of him, had led a human right to Pride Rock.

"Confiance!" he bellowed when he finally deduced that his daughter was telling the truth. At his call, Confiance appeared and sat gracefully in front of him, making absolutely no noise for such a large creature. Because she was the best at stalking and walking softly across the savannah, Kovu had appointed her lead hunter, and she was the one he called when the pride was in any kind of danger…like now.

"Yes, Kovu?" Confiance asked in her gentle voice.

"Man is close. A strange lion has brought a human to Pride Rock. You must assemble the lionesses. If the lion is potentially dangerous, we must be ready to fight and defend our homeland."

At Kovu's orders, Confiance lowered herself to the ground in submission, and quickly stood, turning around to take action. "Coeur, Pluie, Soleil, Lune, Moyo, Jua…" as she called each name, she felt a pang of sadness when she remembered that not all of her hunters were with the pack anymore. Amour, Louange, Ciel, Mvua, and Mwenzi had all been captured by the humans in the Pridelands, and none of them had ever been seen again. They were, of course, presumed dead.

"Jahzara, are you coming with us?" Confiance asked, though she thought she already knew the answer, before Jahzara actually said it. There was a time, before Razi's mysterious disappearance, when the young princess Jahzara couldn't wait to join the hunting party, but she had been too young. Now, when she was old enough, she didn't want to. It was as if she had lost her nerve. So, naturally, when she answered yes, the response shocked everyone more than anything ever could.

"And so is Bijou. And Beau. And Émeraude, Foi, Zuri, Mwana, Vertroue, Skone, and Klein. They're all old enough now" was Jahzara's full answer. "The humans took my brother; I know it. I want the chance to avenge him and all that he and the others stood for. I'm sure everyone else wants the same chance."

"Are you sure?" Kovu asked quickly, staring at his daughter in confusion. Just a few minutes before, he couldn't even make her go on her own first hunt; and now she wanted to join the hunting party to defend Pride Rock from mankind.

Kiara spoke without Jahzara being able to reply. "I think it'll be good for her, Kovu."

"Oh, very well," Kovu sighed, though concern for his daughter still pulsed through his body.

"We're wasting time," Confiance said, eyes blazing fiercely. "Everyone who makes up the hunting party…including Bijou and all the others…assemble yourselves."

Bijou, proud that her mother decided to allow her to be included, immediately stood with her chest puffed out, ready to take charge of the princess and the other lions who had grown up with her. Jahzara, surprisingly, did not challenge Bijou for the position of leader in their small group; she seemed to have lost the will to be at the center of attention. Émeraude, Foi, Zuri, Mwana, Vertroue, Skone, and Klein all gathered around the beautiful lioness, while Jahzara more or less hung back. Only Beau stood apart from them, his pride hurt that Bijou refused to let him be the leader. Confiance paid the younger lions no mind, as she was busy enough with the assembling of her own hunters.

"Zara…?" Beau tentatively asked the young lioness, and she looked at him as if she hadn't realized that he had walked up right next to her.

"My name is Jahzara, Beau. You would do well to remember that. I don't answer to 'Zara' anymore. Zara is dead. She died along with her brother." Before Jahzara could bound away to safety from where the conversation was going, Beau spoke, his words stopping her in her tracks.

"Zara is not dead. Zara is you. Razi's disappearance only made Zara a bit more cautious, because she could see that it was dangerous sometimes to be without anyone nearby." Though Beau spoke not unkindly, Jahzara seemed to take offense from his words and stalked off before anything else was said. Beau sighed, shook his head with a heavy heart, and hurried over to where Bijou and the rest were discussing what they would have to do.

"Oh, good," Bijou said when she spotted Beau. Her eyes, amber colored, instantly lit up upon his arrival, though none of the others teased her as they usually did. It was common knowledge that Bijou had a thing for Beau, especially now that they were older, but it was also common knowledge that nothing could come of it. When Jahzara was ready, she would be required to take Beau as her mate, for they had been betrothed after Razi disappeared from the pride.

"What is it, Bijou?" Beau asked warily, eyeing her suspiciously. Her voice was always much too sweet and cheery when she was addressing him and it added to his annoyance. Though he always treated the lioness with great respect and had since they were cubs, he found her extremely annoying.

"Nothing. Just that you are the main one in our hunting group; we turn to you." Bijou gave him a toothy smile, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that. She was just trying to butter him up, to make him think better of her, this he knew. But he would never think more of her; she was the most annoying female he had ever met, and considering he had grown up around mostly females, that was saying quite a bit.

"You know, Jahzara's the princess. Shouldn't she be the one to lead us?" beau asked the proud young lioness. Bijou tossed her head and stared Beau straight in the eye.

"If she wanted to, she would have taken charge by now. You're wasting time. Humans are coming our way, we must stop them."

"You're not being fair-"

"Fair? Who has time for fair, Beau? Not when humans are so close to discovering our home, we don't. Now grow up." Bijou's harsh, uncaring attitude toward the princess upset Beau, even angered him. Jahzara was to be his mate later on in life, and it distressed him to hear how much Bijou disliked her.

"Children!" Confiance's rebuke, calling them children when they were not, silenced both the lion and lioness, who looked as if they were about ready to rip each other's throats out. "Bijou, you stay here."

"But, Mother!"

"No buts. I'll not have you acting like a cub again. I dealt with that once, I won't do it again. do you understand me? Now go get Jahzara."

Bijou meekly obeyed her mother's command while Confiance strictly organized the pack of younger lionesses and Beau. She placed the confident lion in charge and left to lead her own pack of hunters while Beau and his pack followed at a discrete distance.

**A/N: Hey, ya'll, sorry I haven't been updating really regularly, and I feel bad about that, but I've been really busy as a freshman. College is no joke. Lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed chapter 4 of my fanfic, I know it's not very long, but I'm saving more for the next chapter. And thanks to all my reviewers, you really helped me get back into writing this storyline!**


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